NBA
#11 – Malik Monk – Charlotte Hornets
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
With the No. 11 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected Malik Monk, guard out of the University of Kentucky.
After falling out of the top 1o picks like he had been projected for most of the draft season, Monk lands with the Hornets and Kemba Walker to form what could possibly become one of the best scoring backcourts in the league.
Sharing the backcourt with another high-profile guard won’t be new territory for Monk, as he shared his time at Kentucky with De’Aaron Fox, who was taken No. 5 overall by the Sacramento Kings. During his lone year as a Wildcat Monk absolutely lit up the scoring sheet. Monk averaged 19.8 points per game while shooting 39 percent from downtown. Playing off the ball with Walker, who averaged 23.2 points per game last season, should provide plenty of opportunities to get his next season.
What could become problematic for the Hornets, however, is the lack of size between Monk and Walker. Monk measures in at 6-foot-3, which is undersized for a two-guard in the NBA, and Walker checks in at 6-foot-1. With all the scoring at their disposal, it remains to be seen if the future Charlotte backcourt can defend at a competitive level.
